Hospital Beds

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in NHS hospitals in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many were (a) intensive care, (b) high dependency and (c) high observation beds. (107000)

Table 1 shows the average daily number of available intensive care beds, England, 2001-02 to 2005-06.

*Table 1*
	Intensive care beds
2001-02	4,938
2002-03	5,022
2003-04	5,013
2004-05	5,223
2005-06	5,463

Table 2 shows the number of available adult high dependency beds on the census dates, England, 2001 to 2006.

*Table 2*
Census date	Adult high dependency beds
15 January 2001	1,208
16 July 2001	1,270
15 January 2002	1,319
16 July 2002	1,352
15 January 2003	1,351
16 July 2003	1,397
15 January 2004	1,374
15 July 2004	1,414
13 January 2005	1,440
14 July 2005	1,429
16 January 2006	1,485
13 July 2006	1,443

Data on the number of high observation beds are not held centrally.

Volume 455: debated on Tuesday 16 January 2007